


Time's Game

by dairesfanficrefuge_archivist



Category: The Magnificent Seven (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2001-08-09
Updated: 2001-08-09
Packaged: 2018-12-18 06:27:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11868561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dairesfanficrefuge_archivist/pseuds/dairesfanficrefuge_archivist
Summary: Note from Daire, the archivist: this story was originally archived atDaire's Fanfic Refuge. Deciding to give the stories a more long-term home, I began importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in August 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address onDaire's Fanfic Refuge's collection profile.





	Time's Game

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Daire, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Daire's Fanfic Refuge](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Daire%27s_Fanfic_Refuge). Deciding to give the stories a more long-term home, I began importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in August 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Daire's Fanfic Refuge's collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/dairesfanficrefuge/profile).

Time's Game by KarenK

_Time's Game_

By KarenK 

A _Magnificent Seven_ fanfic 

**Status:** unfinished 

* * *

**PART 1**

Karen Briggs settled the large dusty book she carried onto the table in front of her. She pushed an errant lock of chestnut hair out of her eyes and let out a breath before opening the book before her. As a historian and genealogist, she had come to Four Corners to do some research into the family history of a client. Sighing, she scanned the names in yet another dusty book as she mentally complained to herself about the heat of the room. The room was as hot as Hades, or as hot as she assumed it to be. 

She turned at a sound and knocked a book off the table. She quickly glanced around, chagrined at possibly damaging a piece of history. She picked the book up and cringed when she noticed the binding was newly broken. As she tried to adjust the binding, something fluttered out of the book and landed before her on the table. 

It looked to be an old envelope; she set the book down and gently picked it up. Inside was an old photograph that had written on it's back: _Four Corners, June 4, 1878._ In the photo there were seven men who looked to be between twenty and thirty-five years of age. The one that caught her interest though was the man in the middle wearing all black. He looked to be in his thirties and if the photo was any proof, was of light colored eyes and hair. His stance spoke of a man who was not easily crossed but his eyes spoke of a great heartache. 

Underneath the place and date on the back she found written, _L-R, J.D., Nathan, Ezra, Chris, Buck, Vin, Josiah._ "So, your name is Chris," she said quietly to herself as she stared at the photo. 

"Dd you find what you needed Ms. Briggs?" Karen jumped and turned sheepishly to face the Historical Society's Librarian. 

"Yes and no. Miss Havershaw, can you tell me about this man?" she asked as she handed the photo to Lillian Havershaw. She examined the photo and smiled warmly at Karen. 

"Yes, of course, because the Magnificent Seven are a local legend around Four Corners. J.D. Dunne, Nathan Jackson, Ezra Standish, Chris Larabee, Buck Wilmington, Vin Tanner and Josiah Sanchez. Or as my associate likes to call them the kid, the doc, the card shark, the ladies man, the tracker and the preacher." 

Karen frowned, puzzled. "That's six, but there are seven men." 

"Oh yes, well my associate's nickname for Chris Larabee is the Devil, as in the Devil himself. Larabee was a well known gunslinger and was reputed to have been a hard man who killed quite a few men." Lillian blushed furiously in embarrassment. 

Karen smiled gently at the kind woman who had been nothing but help. They talked for a little while longer while Lillian filled her in on some of the local legends about the group known as the Magnificent Seven before excusing herself to return to work. Karen found herself back at researching, but instead of researching the family she'd come here for she was looking for anything on Chris Larabee that she could find. 

Finally, she found a record of Chris Larabee's death and was shocked to find he'd died on September 2, 1878, only a short time after the photo had been taken. _That's impossible?!_ she thought to herself because she couldn't accept the death of a man who had so many good years still ahead of him. She knew that people died young in those times, but it was still a shock to find he'd been buried before he had a chance to really live. 

She researched some more until she found a journal that described what had happened on that fateful day long ago. Apparently, Chris had been called out, or, in layman's terms, challenged to a shootout. Except from what the journal said, Chris Larabee was the best shot and the fastest draw that ever lived. The other six men, especially Buck Wilmington, had worked for years to prove that Chris Larabee had been murdered. 

Karen yawned as she leaned back to read further along in the journal. It wasn't long before she found herself having a difficult time keeping her eyes open. She found it difficult to focus on the words and her eyes started to close. She couldn't understand why she was so sleepy since she'd had a good night's sleep but before she knew it, she'd lost consciousness. The journal began to glow strangely from where it sat in her hands. 

She heard a soft groan and tried to open her eyes to locate the source. Her eyelids were heavy and it felt much too warm to be January. She felt as if she needed to sleep some more but with an effort she forced her eyes open and was blinded by the glare of the sun. 

"What do we have here?" said a masculine voice sarcastically. Karen felt a rough tug on her arm, pulling her to her feet. She lifted her hand to her head because it felt as if someone had struck her very hard. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in an attempt to steady herself. Before her stood two men who definitely looked like they were up to no good. They were a scruffy pair who almost made her gag from the smell of them. They were desperately in need of a bath. 

Karen tried to appear civil. "Can you tell me where I am?" she asked and then winced from the pain her voice had caused her. Was it possible that a normal speaking voice could be louder than anything she had ever heard? She had a very uneasy feeling about these two men. 

"Don't matter now miss, since you ain't going to be here long," said one of the men as he grabbed her, pulling her against him with a nasty grin. He tried to kiss her as she struggled against his hold; finally, Karen pulled away and slapped him as hard as she could. "Witch!" he snarled and yanked her closer. 

She reacted without thinking and slammed her knee upward into his groin as hard as she could. As he bent over groaning, she took off into the forest as fast as she could. Terrified, she ran as her heart hammered in her chest, threatening to explode. She looked over her shoulder to see the men were gaining on her and slammed into something solid with two hands that grasped her arms. 

She struggled and screamed. "Take it easy, I won't hurt you," said a masculine voice. She turned and found herself face to face with Chris Larabee. The two men burst through the trees and stopped for a moment in surprise. Chris swung his rifle up and aimed it in their direction, while with his other hand he supported Karen. 

"Keep out of this, mister," snarled the older of the two men. 

"If the lady wishes to be with you, then you can all be well on your way," said Chris. 

"There's no way I'm going anywhere with those two!" exclaimed Karen defiantly, despite the frightened quaver in her voice. 

"Now look, mister, this woman made an agreement with us for her company," said the man. 

"No!" she glanced at Chris and her eyes pleaded with him. 

"It seems the lady wishes to stay, so you'd best be on your way." 

"Listen friend, there's no point in you getting hurt over this woman." 

"I could say the same about you," Chris replied. Anticipating the man's response, he pulled the trigger on his rifle before the man's pistol cleared his holster. Chris' bullet struck the man in the arm. "You'd best be on your way boys." 

The men glared at him but they left quickly. He turned in time to see the young woman slump and start to fall forward. He caught her before she hit the ground and he gently lowered her to the grass. He brought out his canteen and poured water into a rag. He dabbed her face with it before holding up his canteen to her lips in an attempt to get her to drink some water. Her eyelids fluttered though didn't open, but she did raise a hand to steady the canteen. From where Chris' hand rested on her head he could feel a good-sized lump and silently cursed the two recently departed men. 

He checked her over quickly for any apparent injuries and noted her strange clothing with a puzzled glance. Her shirt was short sleeved and appeared to be very thin, and stranger yet were the blue pants that seemed to hug every curve of her legs. The shoes were also unusual and he wondered where she had gotten such weird clothing. From what little she had said, she had sounded as if she was born back East. The clothing though was like nothing he'd ever seen before. She appeared to be out cold and he couldn't wake her so he chose to wait for answers on her clothing in exchange for getting help for her apparent head injury. Chris lifted her into his arms and was amazed at how light she felt. He carried her over to his horse and settled her on the saddle before wrapping his jacket around her and then climbing up behind her. 

He clucked his tongue at the horse and tugged on the reins to get it to head for town. The woman leaned into him almost as if she were trying to snuggle against him. The horse made his way through the woods to a cabin it was familiar with. When the horse stopped in front of the cabin, Chris dismounted and gently drew the woman off the horse's back and into his arms. He lowered her to her feet as he kicked the door closed with his foot. He frowned when she shivered silently. "Go sit by the fire and warm yourself," he said. 

"I'm not a child," she complained. 

"You may not be a child, but you're certainly acting like one. Now go sit by the fire, is that clear?" he said coolly. 

"Perfectly clear, my lord," she said very sweetly, but anger flashed in her eyes. Chris' expression turned so cold, dark and dangerous that she involuntarily took a step back. His gaze contemplated her face and then lowered to appraise her body. 

Karen stepped forward and promptly slapped him. He grabbed her wrist. "Go sit by the fire." 

"Don't tell me what to do," she answered petulantly. 

He cursed under his breath before he grabbed her and physically hauled her over to the fire. He pushed her roughly into a chair. "There is nothing proper or civilized about me and the sooner you understand that the better off you'll be. If you're going to argue with me every time you open your mouth, there is going to be some real trouble between us." He left the room and returned with a man's shirt. "Change into this while I go and get some more wood for the fire." With that, Larabee left the room. 

Karen tossed the shirt onto a chair. He had to be crazy if he thought she was going to undress and sit around in nothing but a man's shirt. There was no way he was going to get a chance to repeat the experience she had earlier. 

She stood and looked around the cabin for a way out. Karen swayed as a dizzy spell struck her. Chris came back in and she saw his mouth move as his face swam in front of her. Karen thought she heard him swear, but she was already pitching forward into darkness. He caught her as she fell and he carried her into the bedroom. He quickly undressed her and replaced her clothing with his shirt. He wondered about her clothing briefly as he tried to find a way to undo her strange attire. 

Suddenly, Karen was jerked awake by a heavy form dropping down onto the bed beside her. She realized what it had to be and pulled away in shock, but she'd mistaken the size of the bed. With a strangled cry she fell over the edge and with an unladylike thud, landed on the floor. A rumble of laughter came from the bed as she tried to stand with all the dignity she could muster. Which, at the moment, wasn't very much as she tried to avoid looking at him. 

He reached out an arm and dragged her down next to him. "Mr....?" Karen asked. 

"Chris, all the women I undress and put to bed call me Chris." 

"Well all the men who undress me and put me to bed call me Ms. Briggs," she answered tartly as her curled fist thudded into his side. She got out of the bed quickly. "I should warn you that I know karate," she threatened. 

"I'm really frightened now," Chris replied teasingly. 

"If you're making fun of me I'll...." 

"What? Kill me?" Chris asked, she stretched her hand out behind her. 

"I just might," she answered as her hand closed around the butt of his gun. With her finger on the trigger she lifted the gun and aimed it at Chris. "Maybe you don't think I'll shot to kill, but I assure you that I will," she said in answer to his smirk. 

"Go ahead," he answered. Though she hated violence, she knew she couldn't do anything but follow through with her threat. She pulled the trigger, but the moment she heard the click she knew she'd been tricked. "Damn! You actually pulled the trigger!" he said in genuine surprise as he took the gun away from her. 

"We better get some sleep while we can." Chris grabbed a pillow and a blanket before leaving the room. She sank down onto the bed in a state of shock at what had just happened. How could she actually have pulled the trigger? Chris had rescued her from two men who had tried to rape her. He'd done nothing but help her and she'd tried to kill him for it. She curled up on the bed unable to sleep, she did finally drift off to sleep. 

Something shook her and she awoke afraid until her eyes focused on Chris. "What?" she asked, he placed a finger on her lips silencing her. 

"We've got company coming. Get dressed, we may have to make a run for it." He left without another word or sound. 

Karen hurriedly dressed and joined Chris. "What's going on?" she whispered to Chris. 

"Looks as if your friend's have returned and brought some people with them." 

"They aren't my friends!" she hissed at him angrily. 

"We have to get out of here because one gun against six isn't going to be much good," he said before he started towards the kitchen. 

She grabbed his arm. "Two guns. I can handle myself," she told him in a matter-of-fact tone. 

"Well, whether you can or can't isn't the issue. I don't fight when there is a good chance I'll die," he told her before going to the other room. 

She followed him. "So then what do we do, oh brave and wise warrior?" she said as sarcastically as she could. 

"We gather what we need and we head to town. Then we collect my friends and come back here to take care of them." 

She silently helped him collect food and other things necessary for the trip to town. Chris didn't know what to make of her but he knew she didn't think much of him. He noticed her head over to his rifle and thoroughly checked it before she headed over to the window to check on the intruders. She stayed out of the light so the intruders weren't alerted to the fact their prey was awake and aware they had visitors. Everything she did spoke of a person well accustomed to moving silently and deadly. Chris couldn't have expected better from Vin or Buck or any of the seven. They silently exited Chris' cabin and made their way to the barn. 

Chris was again surprised to see her already handling and saddling his horse like a pro. She kept the horse quiet as she soothed the nervous beast while she tightened the saddle into place. She then proceeded to sit astride a horse who was obvious was much too large for her leg span as it she did it everyday. 

"Let's go Larabee, I haven't got all century." Chris smiled as he got onto the horse he recently bought for Billy Travis as a birthday gift. "YAH!" she shouted as she kneed his horse and Chris was surprised to see not only did his horse respond to her commands, but he did so as if she and the horse had done it for years. A woman who was well acquainted with riding astride instead of sidesaddle definitely gave him food for thought. It would have to wait though they'd made it to town and away from the gunmen who were giving chase. 

As they arrived at the edge of town, he saw the six men who made up the rest of the Magnificent Seven who were like family to him, talking to Mary Travis, the town's newspaper editor. 

"Buck!" Chris called out with urgency and they all turned to see Chris and the woman riding frantically into town. 

"Chris, what's going on?" asked Buck as he helped Karen Briggs down from Chris' horse. 

"We had a few visitors," Chris answered with a smirk. 

"Visitors, hell!" Karen said, drawing a look of surprise from the others. "Two men attempted to be unfriendly and were surprised that I wasn't interested. They brought a few of their friends in an attempt to apparently teach me a lesson." 

"You'll come to my house with me while Chris and the others handle them," said Mary as she took her skirts in one hand and Karen by the other before starting quickly towards her house. 

"What do I look like?! Some fainting Southern belle?! I'll help." She turned a look on Chris that told him not to argue. 

"Ma'am, no disrespect...." Buck began. 

"You're disrespecting me right now by assuming because I'm a woman, I'm incapable of defending myself." 

"In the woods...." Chris started. 

"In the woods I wasn't at my best, but now I'm fine and have no intention of hiding while someone might die because Ren and Stimpy couldn't take no for an answer." Karen reached up and took Chris' rifle down from the saddle. "What's your plan Braveheart?" she asked Chris as the other men smiled in amusement. 

"Are you a good shot?" 

"Do you have blue eyes?" she replied. "Nevermind, I'm used to the sniper's position so I'll take high ground." She looked around a bit before heading over to the hotel and efficiently climbing up onto the second floor porch. 

"Mary you better get in," said Chris before taking up his own position by the store. The riders who'd been following them arrived moments later and he saw Buck place Mary down behind him. 

"Cowboy, we just want the woman!" said the leader. Before Chris could respond, a shot rocked the leader in his saddle. It was enough to wound him, but not badly. 

"That was a warning shot, and the next removes the family jewels," Karen called and Chris heard Buck laugh before containing himself. 

"You damn hellion!" the leader yelled up at her angrily. 

"In case you didn't understand me, I'll put it simple so even you can understand it. Go away or die!" she called out to him in a voice of pure steel. 

Chris heard some grumbling from the other men who obviously hadn't been expecting to be shot at expertly by the very woman they'd intended on raping. Chris heard one say that it wasn't worth the trouble and he rode off followed by two other men. 

"I'll kill you for this!" The leader shook his fist at her. "I'll teach what a real man is yet!" he snarled. 

"You'll have to go find one first," she responded with what Chris could only call amusement in her voice. If he didn't know better, he could swear she was having the time of her life. 

The other men rode away without further problems and Karen came down from her perch. Chris grabbed her arm roughly. "This wasn't a game!" he told her angrily. He was about to continue when he saw the others were burning with curiosity about the girl, so Chris decided to wait until later to finish disclipining her. He hadn't told them who she was and they wouldn't push since Chris only told what he wanted when he wanted to. Larabee blew out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. 

"I found her while I was out hunting. Two men were about to rape her and she had managed to get away with them but they were chasing her." 

Mary gasped. "You poor girl! Do you have some family we can telegraph?" she asked. 

"None," she answered and Chris caught a look of pain that flashed in her eyes before she lowered her head. 

"Mary, can she stay with you?" Chris asked. 

"Of course, I'd be happy to let her stay." 

"Don't you want to know my story first?" Karen asked. 

"I learned a long time ago not to make assumptions because they could be completely wrong and end up hurting people." Mary started to lead her away, Karen turned and whistled catching Chris attention. She threw him the rifle before turning back and leaving with Mary. 

"Mr. Larabee, you do find the most interesting women," Ezra Standish drawled leisurely. 

"I'd like to know a few things about her myself, Chris," said Buck with a grin that Chris was all too familiar with. 

"I need a drink!" said Larabee with an exasperated groan. The six men trailed behind Chris like puppies nipping at his heels, not saying a word but definitely not intending to let him alone until he told them the whole story of what had happened. Chris had one intention, and that was to get rip-roaring, stinking drunk before the night was through. He entered the saloon and tossed his hat on the bar before smiling tiredly at Inez the bartender. She brought him a beer and he smiled gratefully at her. 

"Come on Chris, tell us who she is?" J.D. Dunne asked excitedly. 

The young man had come from back east interested in a life of adventure and Buck had taken him under his wing. He treated J.D. like a kid brother and soon the rest of the men were doing it as well. 

"Her name is Karen Briggs, and she's obviously not Southern," quipped Chris. 

"Well, my dear sir, that much is obvious," answered Ezra. 

"I told you all I know about her, for the rest you'll have to ask her about it," Chris responded. 

* * *

"Mary Travis," said Mary as she offered Karen her hand. 

"Karen Briggs," she introduced herself as she looked around at Mary's house. "So, what is Larabee's problem?" she asked Mary. 

"My father-in-law hired him and the six other men to act as the law in town." 

"Your husband won't mind my staying here will he?" 

"My husband is dead, murdered some years ago." She saw Karen stiffened as if hit by a sudden agonizing pain. "Are you all right?" Mary asked her. 

"Fine, I'm just fine," Karen said in a completely emotionless tone. Mary chattered as she showed Karen to the guest room as much to make her feel welcome as to dispel the chill that the woman's voice moments ago had given her. When she found out that Karen had no clothes, she came up with some of her own for her to wear. 

"I'll leave you to wash up and get ready for bed." Mary closed the door behind her as she left and Karen dropped onto the bed next to the clothes Mary had so sweetly lent her. She was exhausted, and quickly changed into the nightgown. It was a little too frilly for her taste, but better than nothing. She slid in beneath the warm bed covers and tried to go to sleep, but she was unable to. Despite being more tired than she could ever remember, her brain refused to shut down and allow her the much-needed rest. 

* * *

The next morning, she was up before anyone and paced for a bit before getting dressed. Just as she swore quietly under her breath in more than one language a knock sounded at the door. 

"Ms. Briggs, it's Mary." 

Karen opened the door. "Just in time, could you please help me?" She held up the troublesome section of dress to Mary who proceeded to help her. 

"I take it you don't often wear dresses?" Mary asked. 

"Actually, I haven't worn one since I graduated from school." 

Mary picked up her jeans and inspected them. "Men's clothes usually get a woman the kind of attention that she doesn't want unless...." She trailed off embarrassed by what she was saying. 

"Unless they're loose women of low moral standards. I'm quite aware of that, Mrs. Travis." 

"Mary, please, and if you'd like to come down and help me with breakfast you can meet my son." 

"That's great! Call me Karen, and as long as you don't let me cook, everything should be just fine." She smiled at Mary's puzzled look. "My cooking has been known to kill people," she joked. 

"Well, I'm sure we can do something about that," Mary said comfortingly. 

"Trust me on this, my mother or my sister could cook, but me -- I just made sure that I never cooked and that way I was never arrested for murder. " The two women laughed and talked like old friends as they made their way down the steps to the kitchen. 

By the time the seven arrived at Mary's house she and Karen were chattering away as if they'd been friends for years. Chris gave her a look of appreciation at how well Mary's dress look on her. Buck gave J.D. a rough nudge with his elbow in the side to get the young man's attention. 

"Ma'am," J.D. said as he entered the room. 

"I know you met Chris last night but I don't believe you've been introduced to the others. This is J.D. Dunne." Mary introduced a man who was barely twenty if he was a day. "Buck Wilmington." Standing next to J.D. was a tall man with shaggy brown hair and mustache and blue eyes that twinkled with mischief and promises. "Vin Tanner." He nodded his head toward her and his brown shoulder length hair swung from the motion. From the looks of him, Tanner had experience with Indians. "This is Nathan Jackson, the closest we have to a doctor here in Four Corners." She introduced a clean-shaven young black man who looked maybe five years older than J.D. "Josiah Sanchez." Mary introduced a big bear of a man. "And Ezra Standish." Ezra wore expensive clothing and boots and had gambler written all over him. "Gentlemen, allow me to introduce my houseguest, Ms. Karen Briggs." 

As Karen went to sit, J.D. rushed over and gallantly held her chair out for her before turning to the seat next to her only to find it occupied by Buck. "I saved you a seat J.D.," said Buck with a big grin that said he knew what J.D. thought Buck could do with his seat. 

"I was telling Karen all about how you came to be the law here," said Mary. 

"Not many men would have gone out of their way to help a total stranger from being murdered. Mr. Tanner, you are definitely a gentlemen of high character," said Karen. 

"Chris helped," Vin said quietly, not one to enjoy being praised for doing what came right. 

"Oh yes, Mr. Larabee does seem to make a habit of rescuing people, but a gentlemen?" Her voice held a questioning tone to it. 

"Undress one woman and your reputation is marred for life," teased Chris. The others gave puzzled looks at his cryptic comment. 

"Men who generally undress unconscious women are neither gentlemen or of high character," Karen responded just as teasingly. 

"Men who undress unconscious women so they don't freeze to death are definitely of high character, but I must admit it is difficult to stay a gentleman." 

"Indeed?" Karen raised a questioning eyebrow at Chris' choice of words. 

"Ahem, why don't you tell us something about you Karen?" asked Mary. 

"Because I'm not sure what to say that wouldn't make me sound totally insane." As she handed a dish to Buck he took her arm and that's when she realized she'd made a mistake. 

"What's this?" he asked motioning to the watch on her wrist, the digital watch. Before she could respond, Buck had removed it from her wrist and was examining it. 

"I can explain...." she began. 

"Chris, this thing says today's date is May 15th," said Buck. 

"What's wrong with that?" asked Nathan. 

"May 15th, and the year is 2000," replied Buck. 

"Really I can explain...." Karen said, trying to avoid the trouble she could see happening. "Chris, the back says this thing was made in 1998." Karen cursed Buck's need to learn more about the watch. 

"You said you could explain?" asked Chris in a cold tone that brooked no arguments. 

She sighed. "All right, to begin with, I was born thirty-three years ago in New York, but thirty-three to you would be 1842. For me, it would be 1967." She said and grew more uncomfortable with the silence. 

"Am I to understand correctly that you're attempting to say you were born ninety-two years in the future?" Ezra asked. J.D. coughed and quickly reached for his drink. 

"Talk about robbing cradles," Karen attempted to joke. "My parents, my father works for the government. He met my mother while working in her country and they fell in love. They married and father brought her home from England to the dismay of my grandfather and the joy of my grandmother. My mother retired from government work when my eldest brother was born on September 2, 1964." Karen felt nausea at the date because on that day a eighty-nine years in the future A.J. was born, but in this year, 1878, Chris Larabee died. 

"Go on," Chris prodded her. 

"I grew up with a lot of advantages women of your era don't have, and I like any man can pick my choice of job. Men and women aren't equals yet but they're a lot closer than they used to be." Karen swallowed hard. 

"What's the future like?" asked Billy with a childish glee that Karen couldn't deny him his answers. 

"Well...." she looked over at Mary, not wanting to tell the boy if his mother didn't want it. 

"Go ahead I'm most interested," replied Mary. 

Karen could see excitement mixed with fear and knew that Mary didn't know what to make of her guest but she was interested. "Well, we have the Supreme Court, the highest court in the country and one of the judges is a woman named Sandra Day O'Connor." 

Mary gasped. "A woman judge, really?" 

"Woman judges are commonplace, although O'Connor is the only woman currently on the Supreme Court. Women get the right to vote in 1922, thanks to a woman named Susan B. Anthony, who rallied them to protest for that right." 

"Has there been a woman President?" asked Mary. 

"No," replied Karen. 

"Of course, women just can't rule governments," said Ezra. 

"Although, a few years ago a Geraldine Ferraro ran as the Vice Presidential candidate to Walter Mondale's Presidential candidate billing. Also, the leader of England is named Elizabeth Windsor and she seems to be doing a pretty decent job for about the last fifty years." Karen took pleasure at the stunned look on Ezra's face. "The current President is from Arkansas, named William Jefferson Clinton. He's had a few problems with enemies who'd rather look at his personal, rather than professional, life. I, for one, don't care if the President is having an affair as long as he does his job well, which is what Clinton is trying to do. Some men still get jealous and have enough power to start witch-hunts. Of course, he won't be out of the public eye even after two terms as President if his wife Hillary, who's a lawyer, wins her bid against Rudy Guliani, Mayor of New York City, for the seat in the Senate. With Guliani's wife leaving him and his illness, I think it's a likely possibility." 

"Divorce, such a scandal," said Mary. 

"Actually, in my day divorce doesn't carry the stigma it used to. Most people realize that it's sad but that the couple just couldn't work things out. It's better to divorce than to live a life of misery that will turn to hatred. If the current trend continues it'll be a rarity to even get married." 

"Not married?! What about the children?!" asked Mary. 

"They stopped asking about 1930 on birth certificates whether or not the a child was born out of wedlock. I have a friend whose parents were married in October 1965 and she was born in March 1966 six months later. Not because they wanted their daughter born in wedlock, but because her mother loved her father, otherwise she wouldn't have married. Her mother was of the mind not to marry regardless of her condition unless it was true love. 

"My grandmother was born eight days after her parents married in 1910. She herself married my grandfather in 1932, over a year after my father was born in 1931. Children are considered a blessing, regardless of being born in marriage. Our fast-paced lives have managed to cause a few couples to have troubles having children. They usually wait longer and it causes problems when they do want children." 

"Must keep the orphanages awfully busy," said J.D. in a sad tone. 

"Medicine has made it possible for women in their fifties to have children for the first time. Of course the risks are higher the older the mother is. Men shot in the head have been known to go through surgery and live full lives with no problems. Diseases that have plagued men for years are erased, or at least controlled. Small pox and measles are now serious diseases but in my time they're mild normal childhood diseases that are only dangerous to newborns or the elderly. 

"Mother Nature of course can't let herself be defeated so she came up with a few new ones like AIDS. It means Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. Our immune system is what fights disease and AIDS is a disease that attacks the immune system, weakening it so it has trouble fighting off even the most common illnesses, which can turn deadly." 

"That sounds ghastly," said Mary. 

"We've got our problems but we've also have our benefits as well. There are laws for what happened to Nathan and they're strictly enforced. They're called Civil Rights and are due to a stubborn little old woman named Rosa Parks. Most of the country agreed to treat people as people regardless of color. The South, however, refused to budge and had signs marking where blacks were allowed, and what was white only. 

"Ms. Parks, who was a cleaning woman and tired after a long day refused to give up her seat on the bus to a young white man as the rules said she was supposed to. That action started a country-wide spark, which led to civil rights laws that state no one can refuse a person a job and so forth based on the color of skin, gods they worship, or whether they're a woman or a man. All were to be treated equally and the President decided to desegregate schools, which meant you couldn't have schools in the South that were for white only. 

"They brought kids in from other parts of the city just to make sure there are black students with white students. Created quite an uproar back then, but these days no on gives it a second thought that the classes aren't just white or just black. I went to school with not just white or black friends but kids of all colors. I even had kids in my classes that were disabled or handicapped. Not that we're a paradise just yet, because we still have a few of the Klan wondering around in their bed sheets trying to cause trouble. 

"The last Klan march I heard of though, thirty members showed up to spread hate and three hundred showed up to jeer them. A number of the Klan members were actually beaten up by some white men who were arrested for it. Just because we don't like bigots doesn't mean we look the other way where the law is concerned. Most people, white, black or otherwise, just threw insults and a bottle or two but no one was seriously injured or killed." 

"Why allow the Klan to march at all?" asked Nathan with intensity. 

"Because then we'd be like them, refusing to listen to others because we didn't like what they said. They, like us, have just as much right to get a permit to march. We have the right to either ignore them or protest ourselves because our country isn't afraid to let people speak their mind. It's when they try to back up the words with fist, guns, or bombs that the government steps in. We have women who are judges, educated men going into battle after graduating from West Point. We have people being treated with kindness instead of hate more often than not due to all those who fought and died for it. To deny them their weak voice of hatred would make us as bad as them. 

"I have a friend, Kimberly McFarland, who's not only black, but also married to a white man. Both whites and blacks have accepted them as often as they've been turned away by them. Some people have no problem treating blacks and whites as equals as long as they don't marry and have children while others have no problem with it as long as they don't commit crimes or hurt others. As I said, my world isn't perfect but it's getting there, and that's due to education. Because of things like the Internet and new courses in schools children are learning there is nothing to fear from someone who's different. The Klan thrives on ignorance by using the differences as a reason to spread lies and hatred. Since most the truth learn in school, they don't fall for the lies and refuse to believe the Klan. 

"In 1924, we had our first woman Governor, and in 1935 the first black female judge was elected. In 1984, Geraldine Ferraro was the Vice Presidential candidate, she and Walter Mondale the Presidential candidate lost but she was the first woman to campaign for Vice President. Some believe it's not too long until we see a female President in the White House." 

"Well, it does seem you ladies have an interesting future," said Nathan. 

Karen smiled. "You don't know how interesting. Women like Sally Ride, Kathy Sullivan, and Mae Jamieson are the ones I always envied." 

Mary lowered her folk. "I didn't believe you could envy anyone." 

"Sally Ride was the first woman in space and Sullivan was the first woman to walk in space. Mae Jamieson was the first black woman to go into space. When I was a little girl, I used to sit on the back porch and watch the night sky. To know that Ride, Sullivan, and Jamieson were there and I can never be definitely makes me envious. To be an astronaut you have to be the best. The year 1998 saw the first shuttle mission lead by a woman. What I wouldn't have given to be her. To go shooting into the sky and touch the heavens has to be one great ride. To be able to look back on this world and see it they way they saw it. I can see it from the pictures they took though, and I guess that's better than nothing." 

"Can I see the pictures?" asked Billy. Mary shushed him and told him not to bother her. 

"No, Mary, it isn't a bother. I knew I had a picture with me because I usually carry one for times when things get stressful." She pulled out of her pocket a still slip of paper and showed it to Billy. It was crumpled and water stained but Chris saw a large blue-green ball on a background of black with what seemed to be stars. 

"It's...." The boy trailed off. 

"Yes, it is sorta beyond definition." She passed the photo around the table. 

"What is this that it's on?" asked Ezra. 

"It's called a photograph. A long time from your sepia pictures, we have technology to color the pictures and improve a picture if it didn't come out the best. We can even add people to a picture that weren't even there when it was taken." 

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© 2001   
Please send comments to the author! 

08/09/2001 

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